Blue Nile Appoints New Chief Merchandising Officer

RAPAPORT... Blue Nile has named Julie Yoakum its chief merchandising officer. Yoakum will join the company ‎on June 25 to lead its merchandising strategy including trend identification, product design, ‎sourcing and inventory planning and management. She will report to Blue Nile's president, Harvey Kanter. ‎ Yoakum has more than 20 years of experience in merchandising and product design and ‎development with strong creative, leadership, and business skills, according to Blue Nile. She began her career at ‎Eddie Bauer where she spent 18 years and eventually appointed the company's executive vice president of ‎merchandising, product development and sourcing.

Most recently, Yoakum served as account ‎service director at Hornall Anderson Design Work in Seattle where she managed projects for ‎the firm's top Fortune 500 companies including Starbucks, The Hershey ‎Company, McKesson Corporation, The Limited and Del Monte Foods. ‎ ‎"Blue Nile is one of those rare companies with a unique business model and superior customer ‎proposition that grows quickly to the top of its industry," said Yoakum. "As a merchant who ‎values innovation and premium quality products, the very things that Blue Nile stands for, I ‎can't imagine a better place to be."‎